John jewell



I (No Model.) 1

J. JEWELL.

- PORTABLE FIRE ESCAPE. v I No. 503,971. U Patented- Aug. 29, 1893.

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' W/TA/ESSES: I IIVVE/VTOH UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

JOHN JEWELL, OF BRISTOL, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES HENRYHOWELL, F SAME PLACE.

PORTABLE FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,971, dated August29, 1893.

Application filed March 16, 1893. Serial No. 466,372. (No modeL)Patented in England October 16, 1889, No. 16,270.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN J EWELL, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Bristol, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Portable Fire-Escapes, (for which I have obtaineda patent in Great Britain, No. 16,270, dated October 16, 1889;) and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the IQ invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in portable escapes, by which acoil of fire-resisting flat rope or webbing is used as a means fordescending from burning buildings, a conductor or block with acorrugated groove running through the center offering sufficientresistance to the passing of the web to enablea person to attach himselfto the conductor and descend with perfect safety.

The construction of the conductor-block and the passage of the flat ropeor web through its internal groove is fully illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

Figure l is a side View of the block, the curved line showing a divisionmade by a saw or other means to form the corrugated interior. Fig. 2 isa perspective View of one of the 0 divisions of the block, with acentral groove which forms a passage for the fiat rope or Web, and Fig.3 is a general view of the escape, ready for use. The block A, a, ismade of hard wood or other suitable material, and after being cutthrough as shown by the wavy line, a wide groove 13 is made in one ofthe sections, and then the two parts A, a, are strongly screwedtogether, or fastened in any other suitable o manner. The Web or flatrope C can then be put through the corrugated groove and the hook orring D attached for suspending when required, the other end of the webbeing coiled or rolled ready for easy removal from one place to another;attached to the block is a sling or belt E to support a person orpersons using the escape; the web may be made fire proof by saturatingit with any of the chemical substances usually employed for thatpurpose.

The various parts of my improved appliance being provided as described,the coil of Webbing is rolled as closely as possible and tied in acompact parcel with the ring on the outside, and suitable hooks orfastenings insorted in convenient places. The escape is then ready foruse. In case of fire or other danger, when it is required to use theescape, the the ring is suspended to the support provided for it, theparcel is untied and the coil thrown out of the window into the street,and if persons take one end and hold it tolerably tight, a descent mayeasily be made, as the strain on the web will regulate the speed; itthere are no persons on the ground to take 6 5 the end of the web, asmay frequently be the case in isolated districts, the person descendingwill take the web below the block in his hands and thus give therequired strain to cause the friction of the web overthe corrugations tocheck a too rapid descent.v

The blocks may be'made with any suitable number of corrugations, and ofany depth, but those shown in the drawings are found by experience to bebest adapted for the purpose.

What I claim is A portable tire escape, comprising a flat band offlexible and non-combustible material, a sliding block formed in twoparts A a, one of the said parts being provided with a waved groove B,the screws for securing the said parts together and causing the saidband to be clamped with a certain prearranged pressure in the saidgroove, and a sling attached to the said block, substantially assetforth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN JEWELL.

Witnesses:

O. F. BRASHER, .TNo. GREGORY WEsTLAKE.

